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CAPTAINS’ ENCLOSURE . . . Zimbabwe skipper Brendan Taylor (left) and his Pakistan counterpart Mohammad Hafeez hold the trophy that their teams will battle for in the two Twenty20 matches, with the first one starting at Harare Sports Club this afternoon

Augustine Hwata Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE captain Brendan Taylor says his troops must play with pride and passion in their redemption mission against Pakistan which starts with a Twenty20 match at Harare Sports Club this afternoon.The top-order batsman said they have put behind them the challenges which rocked their camp in the last few days and are ready to take on Pakistan in the first T20 match that gets underway at 1.30pm.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Taylor said they were hoping to put on a better show and redeem some lost pride after world champions India inflicted a 5-0 drubbing in an ODi series on them last month.

Pakistan arrived on Monday for a month-long tour, with their coach Dave Whatmore declaring that they were here to win each and every match, starting with the first T20 match this afternoon.

Their captain, Mohamed Hafeez, also promised Zimbabwe a tough game but said they were not underrating their opponents.
But Zimbabwe’s wicket-keeper and batsman, Taylor, is also upbeat about their chances despite the recent boardroom upheaval that rocked the team’s preparations in the build up to the Pakistan series.

“We are confident despite the recent problems. We are fortunate enough to have resolved all the issues and the ZC board has met us in the middle, so to speak, and we can now focus on what is more important and that is playing the tour against Pakistan,” said Taylor, widely acknowledged to be the best player in the Zimbabwe team.

“We have been in negotiations with ZC over the past few days, they have listened to us and as players we need to focus and deliver.
“No regrets (over the strike). The guys did not do any team training for five days but as individuals, we still put up some work and covered all the basics. India’s tour was not too long ago, so we are still match fit.

“We have to show, believe and play with a lot of pride and passion.”
The experienced batsman said the five-day boycott of training by the players did not have any major impact on their preparations for this series.

“For our preparations, we have used the last few days to capitalise on lost time and we are trying to give ourselves the best chances for this tour.

“Pakistan are a world class outfit and we know that, but we have done lots of video research and it’s about executing our skills and trusting our own abilities as we test ourselves against some of the best players in the world.

“So it’s going to be a great challenge and that is what international cricket is all about. It’s never meant to be any easy,” said Taylor.
Taylor has set realistic targets of trying to focus and taking each game as it comes.

“We just have to take one game at a time. I trust that we done the work and we feel that if we play our best cricket, we are confident of winning.

“It just needs one good performance to give us confidence and the momentum to get into the one-dayers and then into the Test matches.
“But we do not want to look too far ahead. We want to give the best performance,” he said.

During the series against India, the Zimbabwean players struggled to get into their stride but Taylor is hopeful that more players will come to the party.

“I think it’s a great time for us to play a lot of consistent and tough cricket. Hopefully we can go further than this. I will not dwell too much on the series against India.

“It was a series I really worked hard on and probably put too much pressure on myself.
“This time I will try to be a little bit more relaxed and we have encouraged each individual in the team to do that.

“I think we are going to see a bigger improvement and hopefully we can play with a lot of freedom and come out with some consistent results,” said Taylor.

Zimbabwe will be going into the series without pace spearhead Kyle Jarvis, who recently quit international cricket and has now joined English country side Lancashire.

However, Taylor said they are still good players who can do the work with the ball.
“Just in a short period of time we have come up with some good seamers and two pretty good leg spinners.

“So it’s a big challenge and big step for them. Hopefully our batsmen can compliment them and if we can get all three aspects right, we should certainly be more competitive.

“Mentally, the game is challenging because there are a lot of expectations and I think our experience is at the top order and it is imperative that the guys put their hands up and lay the platform for the team to be competitive,” he said.

For Zimbabwe, just playing against such classy opposition is precisely what they need.
“Regardless of our performance against India, we can still take a lot and try to progress through this season. We cannot ask for a tougher opposition. We are up against the best, so its exciting and tough for us,” said Taylor.

“Definitely this will help with building the future of our cricket here in Zimbabwe. We like to be more consistent if we do all three basics well, we can give ourselves a good chance of winning.”

Pakistan all-rounder Hafeez said they wanted to do well in the Twenty20 match today.
“Our aim is to win the series and there is no doubt about that and at the same time, we have got some youngsters with us who are trying to get international exposure.

“We are ready for the series starting tomorrow (today). The boys made their commitment with the coach and the rest of the staff back home and everyone is ready for this series. It’s been a pleasure working with some of the guys who are really hungry to do well at the highest level. Representing your country at the highest level is always an honour and the boys are conducting themselves well.

“They have shown great commitment since the last match we played. A year ago, we were ranked 9th in the ICC rankings and now we are number two in the world.

“We are very happy and we will try to maintain this position,” he said.
According to the latest Reliance ICC Rankings, Pakistan (124 points) are second behind Sri Lanka (128 points) while Zimbabwe are a distant 12th with 28 points

“We cannot take anyone lightly in a game of cricket.
“Zimbabwe always play well and I remember the last time we played against them in 2011, there were some very close matches.

“They have got a good team and there is no doubt about that. In a T20 match, we have limited time and so we cannot afford to be complacent in any way. As a team, we will respect Zimbabwe as a worthy opponent and they play magnificent cricket at home,” he said.